


Are you okay?

by coolkidmitch



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: F/F, Fusion, gem monster, relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-05-04 23:57:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5353172
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coolkidmitch/pseuds/coolkidmitch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a battle with a Gem creature, Garnet seems to be acting a little different. While the other Gems carry on their business, Steven finds that Garnet has defused for an unknown reason. It's up to Steven to help bring Ruby and Sapphire back together when secrets get in the way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Are you okay?

The cave’s floor was slippery and Steven felt his sandals slipping as he tried to run across it, “Uhhh! I should have worn tennis shoes!”

Pearl laughed behind him, “I told you to stop wearing those when we go out on missions. You need real traction, you never know what kind of environment we mig----DUCK!”

Steven’s shield materialized above him and he sunk down on the floor, “Ah!”

Pearl’s spear flew over him and slammed into a creature above him he hadn’t seen. It exploded before Steven could get a good look at it.

“What was that thing?” he asked.

“Great. This corrupted gem can create replicas of itself.” Pearl sighed and pulled another spear from her gem.

“Like centipeedle? Maybe that means it’s nice.” Steven smiled, his shield vanishing.

“I doubt it.” Pearl mumbled.

"RAH!” a shout emerged from deep in the cave.

“That sounded like Amethyst!” Steven rushed forward, sliding across the floor.

“Steven! Be careful!” Pearl followed after him.

Down the tunnel, the liquid on the floor hardened into ice and Steven felt a shiver across his skin, “Why is it so cold down here.”

“Get OFFA me!” Amethyst bellowed, her whip cracking at the creature that scuttled off her.

“Is that the mother?” Pearl asked Amethyst.

“Heck if I know! Where’s Garnet?” Amethyst whipped at the creature which hissed at her.

In the light Steven could see that the gem monster was like an eel. It floated in the air elegantly and where its head should be was one large eye. It’s had ruffled fins that helped maneuver itself through the cave. It hissed again from an unseen mouth and out of fins sprayed ice in all directions.

“Watch out!” Pearl said. She elegantly back flipped away from the sharp shards of ice.  
Amethyst whipped away the ice shot her direction and Steven’s pink bubble emerged, guarding him from danger.

The creature vanished down a tunnel to their left, leaving a trail of ice behind it.

“Ugh! This thing keeps slipping away.” Amethyst started to run after it.

“Where’s Garnet? I would assume that she would be here by now.” Pearl tapped on her mouth thoughtfully and shrugged. “Let's go Steven.”

Steven nodded and started after the two.  
The luminescent crystals on the walls of the cave were bright enough to illuminate the tunnel, but as they ran down deeper, the crystals started to grow dimmer, darker, giving off a deep light that went from a white to a blue.

“Pearl can you…” Steven whispered.

“Oh, yes, of course Steven.” Pearl raised her head and a bright light emitted from the gem atop her forehead.

There was a hiss down the tunnel and the crack of Amethyst’s whip, “Oh come on!”  
When Pearl and Steven reached the action, Amethyst was tied up in the creature. It squeezed at her tightly and hissed, spraying her face with frost.

“Try and stay still Amethyst! I’m going to try and hit it!” As Pearl aimed her spear, the monster spat a dozen tiny creatures, tiny flying eyeballs eels that wrapped around Pearl’s arms.

“Gah! Get them off of me!” Pearl tried to move but couldn't.

“Ahh! I got it! Shoo! Get outta here!” Steven swatted at the small eels but found himself covered in his own dozen eel creatures that coated him from head to toe, “Oh no! Where’s Garnet? Garnet!” Steven shouted up the tunnel they emerged from.

There was a rumbling above them and crashing down through the ceiling. Garnet appeared, her gauntlets aimed ahead of her and smashed into mother.

The creature quickly unwrapped Amethyst and prepared another frost spray attack. Garnet reared back and smashed her fist into the monster's face, throwing it against a wall.  
Amethyst pulled a whip out of her gem and wrapped it around the creature quickly. It hissed, ice spewing from its head.  
Garnet smirked at the creature and punched at. A final screech and an explosion of mist revealed a deep blue gem that fell to the floor.  
The tiny eel replicas vanished in their own poofs of mist, freeing Steven and Pearl.

“Oh thank goodness. You showed up at the perfect time, as always. Well done Garnet.” Pearl walked forward to congratulate her.

There was silence. Garnet did not respond, and stared at the gem at her feet.  
“Uhhh, you gunna...bubble that...or do you want us to do it?” Amethyst asked.

Still there was nothing. Garnet stood like a statue.

“That’s okay! I can bubble it! I haven’t bubbled one in a while.” Steven sauntered over dramatically but was stopped when Garent’s still gauntleted hand stopped him.

“No.” Garnet said, “I’ll do it.”

She leaned over and bubbled the gem, pausing for another moment to stare at it before sending it off to the temple.

“Is...everything alright Garnet?” Pearl asked.

“Yes.” Garnet said, still standing still, then turned around and headed back up the exit of the temple.

The other three looked around at one another, not sure of what to make of Garnet’s attitude.

“Yes. Well. Let’s get home shall we. Another great mission. Wonderful job with your shield today Steven!” Pearl tired to lighten the mood.

“Yea, little man! You were awesome today!” Amethyst punched Steven in the shoulder as she walked by.

“Thanks.” Steven smiled weakly and watched Garnet as the four of them made their way out.

~

The warp stream came to a halt in the temple. Lion was standing in the middle of the house, staring at the warp pad. He yowled at Steven and looked down at his paws, all four of which were stuck in tiny boxes.

“Oh Lion! What have you even done.” Steven walked off the warp and helped Lion get the boxes off.

“So, Garnet. Is there anything else we should be doing? I’d be happy too---” Pearl started.

“No.” Garnet cut her off. “I’ll be in the temple.” she turned and walked into her room.

Amethyst looked over at the door, then to Pearl, and then outside, “Whatever.”

“Clearly she doesn’t want to talk, Amethyst. And that’s fine. We’ll just wonder and anticipate her telling us what is wrong!” Pearl smiled nervously.

“Is something wrong with Garnet?” Steven asked, pulling the last small box off of Lion’s paw.

“Oh no. Everything’s fine Steven! What with Malachite and Peridot missing, I’m sure Garnet is just stressed. We’re all stressed!” Pearl put her hands up and smiled.

“I’m not stressed.” Amethyst said, staring at Pearl.

“ME EITHER! How about you go eat something.” Pearl sighed.

“Great idea! I think Greg left some old tires outside.” Amethyst ran for the door.

Pearl turned and walked into the temple.  
“Are you okay Pearl?” Steven asked.

Pearl stopped before she could walk inside and smiled, “Yes, Steven. I’m fine. Thank you for asking.” and she vanished inside.

“Ugh.” Steven sat down on the floor and flopped against Lion, his arms spread out, “I hate when no one tells me anything. It’s like I’m a kid.”

Lion grumbled.

“Excuse you. I am a young man. Everyone tells me so.” Steven beamed.

Lion grumbled again and stood up, walked toward the front door and left.

“Not you too!”

~

The sun went down and the moon reflected off the ocean like the crystals in the frost caves. Steven sat on the front porch with a mug of hot chocolate and sipped it, enjoying the light breeze coming off the water.

“Ahh. Yea know. Sometimes I forget just how beautiful and calm the night can be.”

“WELL FINE!” a shout from inside came and Steven turned around. The doors to the temple had opened but he couldn't see who was coming out.

“Amethyst?” Steven asked.

The screen door flew open and standing in it, with steam flowing off her head, was Ruby.

“Oh!” Steven said, gulping down the rest of his hot chocolate and placing it on the ground, “Ruby! Where’s Sapphire?”

“She’s not HERE right now, Steven. It’s just ME.” Ruby shouted back into the house.

“Is...everything okay? The last time you two unfused…” Steven frowned.

“EVERYTHING'S FINE.” Ruby shouted. Steam rose from her feet and she looked down, seeing she was burning the porch. Ruby grumbled something that Steven couldn’t make out and she ran down to the beach.

“She’s pacing.” Steven sighed.

“She’ll be fine, eventually.” Sapphire said, floating in the doorway.

“Is everything okay?” Steven asked, he felt like a broken record.

“Yes, Steven. Ruby is just mad. She just needs some time alone to think things through.” Sapphire sighed and sat down on one of the patio chairs.

“Why is she mad?”

Sapphire didn’t say anything. 

“Can I help?” Steven said.

“No. But thank you Steven.” Sapphire smiled.

“I just hate seeing you two apart. I know it means there is something wrong. I knew Garnet was acting off. Were you two fighting?” Steven frowned.

“Fusion is a conversation. When you and Connie form Steveonnie, you know that it’s a constant flow of trust between one another. When that trust is broken, then the conversation can stop and so does fusion.” Sapphire frowned.

“JUST TELL ME.” Ruby shouted from the beach up at Sapphire.

Sapphire said nothing.

“UGH! YOU. CAN’T. JUST. HIDE. THINGS. FROM. ME.” Ruby punched a large boulder in the sand, to emphasize every word.

“I am not hiding anything, Ruby. You’re blowing this out of proportion.” Sapphire said, not raising her voice.

Ruby reached up and grabbed her own face, pulling it down dramatically and then ran further down the beach, pacing, and grumbling loudly.

“I’m going to go talk to her.” Steven said, standing up.

“It won’t help. Ruby has to remember to trust me, and that is will take time. She’ll learn it all eventually and Garnet will be back.” Sapphire said.

Steven didn’t pay attention. He was getting tired of Sapphire’s reaction to situations. He figured that being able to see the future calmed her. She already knew what was going to happen. But that didn’t mean that what was happening in the present didn’t matter. Hadn’t she learned that back at Keystone?

Steven finally reached Ruby and she was grumbling to herself and gesturing wildly.

“Hey Ruby.” Steven said.

“I’M FINE STEVEN. DON’T WORRY.” Ruby tried to fake a smile, but it didn’t work. The frustration blazed through.

“No, you’re not. But that’s okay. I want to help.” Steven smiled.

“This is between me and Sapphire. Don’t get upset! Everything's FINE.” Ruby started to pace again.

“I know you’re used to only having to talk to Sapphire about everything. She keeps you calm and helps you see that everything’s going to be okay. But I want to help too. I want you both to be happy.” Steven smiled.

Ruby stared at Steven, the steam floating off her head settled and she sighed, sitting down on the sand, “Sapphire is hiding something. She won’t tell me what it is.”

“Can you hide things when you’re fused?” Steven asked.

“If you work really really hard. It messes up….it messes up everything!” Ruby started to play in the sand, “You can’t be a fusion if you lose trust.”

Steven thought for a moment, tapping his chin, “Maybe she’s trying to protect you?”

“From what?! When we’re Garnet, we’re so strong. Nothing can break us.”

“Maybe she thinks knowing whatever it is she is hiding will hurt too much. I know when I keep secrets, it’s usually to protect people.” Steven smiled.

“But we’re together. We’re a relationship. We can’t keep secrets from each other. I...we can’t stay Garnet if she doesn’t let us be an honest conversation.” Ruby smashed down the small sand pile she had been building in frustration.

“How about I talk to Sapphire! I’ll see if I can get her to tell you whatever it is she’s keeping secret or give you a good explanation as to why.” Steven smiled.

“...Okay. You can try, I guess.” Ruby did not look convinced.

Steven ran back to the house, where Sapphire was still sitting, staring out at the ocean under the long blue bangs.

“Hi Sapphire!” Steven smiled.

“Hello Steven.” She turned and looked at him, “I’m not keeping anything secret.”

Steven frowned, “But Ruby thinks you are! And she thinks if you she can’t trust you she can’t be Garnet.”

Sapphire sighed and floated into the air, flying down to the beach where Ruby was sitting. Steven quickly ran down, not wanting to interrupt but still curious. 

“I don’t want to talk to you.” Ruby said, turning her back to Sapphire.

“Her name was Spinel.” Sapphire said.

Ruby turned to her, staring at Sapphire. “Before...before us, she and I were inseparable. She was emotional and high spirited. She kept me balanced.” Sapphire looked out at the ocean.

“Did you two ever…” Ruby asked, still not looking.

“We never fused. This was when I first got to Earth.” Sapphire sighed, “Seeing her...like that…."

“That wasn’t her.” Ruby said, turning around.

“It was though. I could feel it. I just didn’t want to say anything. I didn’t want to let my emotions compromise the mission.” Sapphire frowned.

“Sapphire. You don’t have to hide her from me. If Spinel made you feel how you make me feel, then I want to thank her for being apart of your life.” Ruby stood up and grabbed Sapphire’s hands.

“I thought you would be jealous...or angry that I never talked about her.” Sapphire moved her bangs out of the way and looked at Ruby, her one eye watering.

“You look forward. You don’t look back. I just felt you look back when you saw the monster---Spinel’s gem. You went silent. I didn’t know how to feel.” Ruby pulled Sapphire in for a hug.

“I just...I hope I can see her again.” Sapphire grabbed Ruby tightly in their embrace.

Ruby spun Sapphire around and their bodies formed to light, quickly fusing together back into Garnet, who was holding her own hand.

“Garnet!” Steven smiled, running forward and grabbing onto her side.

“Thank you Steven.” Garnet smiled, her glasses materializing with a wave of her hand.

“Are you going to be okay?” Steven asked.

“Relationships take time. They are never perfect. But I’m glad I have someone like you around to help me stay me.” Garnet put her hand on Steven’s head and scuffed his hair.

“So you’re okay?” Steven asked again.

“I will be.”


End file.
